Barking at: the door, runners, bicycles, the chair scraping the floor, that passing truck (etc)

[luluthepug]

So.

My oh-so-sweet Walnut is driving me INSANE with his barking! In the house, it's when people first enter - he FREAKS out for about a minute, barking, jumping, barking some more. And it's his I'm-a-big-scary-pug bark. He does not nip, he's excited & a bit nervous. I don't think it's aggressive at all as he never growls, nips or bites. A friend came over the other day and he scared her and nearly ripped her skirt. NOT a gentlemanly way to greet a visitor, I'd say! Oh, Wally! She wasn't much of a dog person and said "Oh, I just don't like it when they lick me" and I said "Well, you will NOT like him then, he's a crazy licker!!". She only stayed an hour, and we sat outside!

He will do this to people he knows - it's just the excitement of someone coming into the house. After this initial "greeting", he will settle down and act totally and completely normal. In fact will sometimes curl up and go to sleep at their feet, or go off and sleep somewhere else. He doesn't care much about them once they come thru the door.

He can also appear to be in a deep sleep, but LEAP up and start barking & whining when someone pushes their chair back from the table, or something drops, etc. I'd say his startle reflex is STRONG! He's also still being very reactive on the leash - runners and cyclists in particular. Also people. Oh, and other dogs. Oh, yeah and trucks. And evil toll takers. And guys at the gas station. And maybe that bird over there.

I don't want to use the shaker...too scary for him. I've been trying positive reinforcements / distractions - like playing "find it" when we are on walks and I see something that I sense might be a trigger for him. People want to pat him, but I hold him back (which often means that he's barking at them, standing on his hind two legs looking like a fool). I know that he'd settle down if he was allowed to greet them, but know too that allowing that is just teaching him the way to get over to that person is to act like a fool. The problem is that he gets himself soooo worked up that he will NOT calm down and we end up walking away. And THAT also might be somewhat rewarding the behavior too. Oh my.

So....do you guys have maniac pugs like Walnut? Have you been able to curb their enthusiasm (the door issue in particular)? He's really such a great boy. He's just a bit beside himself lately. The barking at the door seems to be worsening - or maybe it's just because it's making me stressed. So many people say "oh, i don't mind!", but geez - I do! I want him to be a nice, polite boy at the door.

Gina - I know this was a problem for Eddie - what steps did you take with him? Any advice that all y'all had would be greatly appreciated....

-Mom to Mr. Barky Bark Barkster or my boyfriend, our resident Walnut :)

*sigh* isn't he so handsome?

[Tinker's mom]

He IS so handsome! Tinker runs to the door barking too, I don't open the door until I'm in front of her and say stay!!She doesn't dash out then but she still wants all the attention from that new person!!I want her to stay back from the door and greet the person after I have, I'm still working on that. Maybe someone will have ideas for both of us.I think when I know someone is coming I will put her harness on and leash so I have better control, but it's the unexpected you can't do that with.

[luluthepug]

Yeah - it's those first 30 seconds which are a doozy. He is so distracted, he can't even think straight and if you attempt to try and hold him back, it makes it all the more intense. I think that makes him more worried - I'm trying to diffuse the situation...! Oh my. It makes me tired! We need some concentrated practicing with him, but what I'm looking for is specific training I can do with him. I think we need to work on his sit/stay more. Then with distractions. I'm hoping someone will come along and say "Yes, we had that problem and we worked on it this way >>>>>>> and now the problem is solved!". I know this won't be forever, and we've been travelling a lot lately (going back up to Maine tomorrow to pick up oldest DD, but we'll be there for longer this time - they really love it up there). He's really a sweet boy, but you wouldn't know it from the way he greets people. He may SIT on their lap later!!

The other day, he did the crazy bark/jump greeting with a friend (whom he KNOWS), then proceeded to sit in front of her. And STARE. (he's a starer). I can't describe it - it's almost like he's trying to read your mind or control you with his thoughts. He's super intense. It freaked her out!

I really think that one day he will actually SPEAK. He's a VERY dramatic pug. If you have one, you'll understand what I mean....

[pugaddiction]

Hi Kara,
We haven't stopped this behaviour yet, its better but still reactive. Very reactive to other dogs. When people come over Eddie will bark, if it is a man he will back up and bark. If it is a woman he will bark but will go and sniff. When he is barking I ask my guests to ignore him. After a few barks I will tell him to be quiet and he usually does settle down. The ignore has worked great for us with him. As for strangers coming to the front door, he is a maniac but so is Zoey. I will not open the door until they are both sitting. If the person at the door doesn't want to wait for this then I guess its not that important for them to talk to me. If we try to take Eddie away from the situation it only makes it worse and he starts the screaming. Doesn't help when you have a guest over that doesn't like dogs, they will sense that.
As for our walks, Eddie does not react until he is close to the dog, within sniffing distance. I never know if he is going to like the dog or not. Usually not. I don't generally stop for him to meet dogs at this time. We do a drive by, say hi and on our way. He is learning that when he walks past a dog, they aren't going to come up from behind to get him. Poor fellow has obviously had some sort of trauma with another dog at some point in his life.
Good luck with Wally. Are you trying the ignore the bad and reward the good.

[luluthepug]

Gina! I'm glad you posted - I think Wally sounds a lot like Eddie. Although Wally doesn't discriminate between men and women. They all get the same treatment from him. I think we need to have a set routine, and practice with him. My DH will just open the door and let him jump all over people - we tell people to ignore him, but it's hard because he's actually nearly waist height when he stands on his hind legs. And he will actually put his front paws on people, then BARK UP AT THEM! Geez, Wally!!

I will say he's more of a talker than Baby (or Lulu ever was). He harumphs, he mutters to himself sometimes - he's very communicative - another reason I think one day he'll start to talk!

What did the behaviorist say about him? Did they come to your house? How much did it cost (if you don't mind me asking). I think we might need more than the Petsmart training on this one - alhtough I know that the next level concentrates more on the sit/stay - with extended periods of time, and more distractions. This actually might be what we need for him. We need to be able to get his attention and keep it while someone is coming in. We've been having guest toss a treat and say "Find it!", but this just proves to be sort of frantic. He does calm down very quickly, but I really want that manic barking to go away. A few barks I don't mind - the "Hey, someone is here!" bark - but I want him to STOP when I say "Enough" (or whatever).

I feel bad - bad for the person who's being leaned on and barked up at (and I DON'T believe we should let him do this, but it's happened a few times when he is released from the sit/stay we attempt...he'll just run up to them AFTER the sit/stay and greet them in this manner. And I especially feel bad for him - I do think he was VERY sheltered in his previous life. I also think that someone must have yelled at him...he's slightly hand-shy and generally a little shy with people/dogs after the initial insanity. We adore him though, and yes - are rewarding the good and ignoring the bad.

Oh, Wally. :)

[barbs pug]

Audrey does all of that also. I was sitting out with my neighbors last night and every time a car came around the corner of the development she barks and don't know when to stop. I have to hold her harness a little tighter to make sure she don't get away from me. She also does this with trucks. She barks at the kids and then whimpers. I think in her mind they should stop and make over her and when they don't she wimpers. When someone comes to the door she barks like she thinks she's a rotteweiler or something. I think they all think they are big dogs in little bodies. Pretty scarey for the person at the door. Once the person is in, she's fine. My idea is I think she was dropped off somewhere and started barking when the person left her and then cried when they didn't come back. I feel so bad for her and for the person she is doing the barking at. I can't afford anyone to come to the house and help me with this, but I am going to try petsmart or some other place to help with this. I love Audrey but she needs to learn some etiquette!

[jstpugginalong]

Kara, I know all to well what you are talking about!!!! Our boy Bear sounds soooooo much like your Wally, its ridiculous! He barks at people, the TV, noises outside, pretty much everything! He is especially bad when we have visitors, he will bark when they get here, while they are here and when they leave and then he will parade around the house all puffed up as if he scared them off, spitting and strutting like a little tuff guy! He even barks at people that he loves when they first get here and then he will settle down, but the minute they start to leave the barking starts up all over again ) :
I've tried the pennies in a can and a squirt bottle and they don't faze him so if you find ANYTHING that works please, please share!!!!

[CSollers]

I sure hope somebody can come up with a good answer to this issue. Minni does a lot of the same things, although not quite to the same extent.

[Stazz]

Yep yep yep, thats Yoda to a tee !!!! The worst is, when you open a door, even when its internally, like the bathroom door, or something, he goes beserk till he sees you, then he is just excited and jumpy,even if he was asleep. If teh front door opens, like when Nick would come home from work, Yoda would go charging to bark at the opening door, then go mad to see his daddy. Leia is learning this too, she doesnt bark like Yoda, but she is learning everrrrything from him, inl;cuding being jumpy when a guest arrives. She is too short to jump up like he does though haha. Ive tried alot of things to help, but doesnt seem to work. Fascinating that Im not the only one!!

[Stazz]

AND BOY OH BOY Wally is gorgeous !!